Til beskyttelse av utenlandspensjonistenes rettigheter iht.norsk lov samt demokrati for verdens befolkning.
For the protection of overseas pensioners rights in accordance with the Norwegian Constitution as
well as democracy for all citizens. WE ARE TOTALLY AGAINST TTIP and The New World Order. NWO

Germany pitches plan to break TTIP stalemate

EU trade ministers will vote this week on an ambitious German
plan to break a stalemate in the EU-US trade talks over settling
disputes between companies and governments.

The proposal is a permanent trade court between the EU and the US,
with public proceedings and an appeals process to replace the existing
system of arbitrary panels settling fights on a case-by-case basis.

Critics, among the loudest coming from within Germany, say the
current so-called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) scheme lacks
independence and lets companies attempt to overrule
democratically-passed laws.

The issue is proving a major sticking point in the negotiations on
the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the trade deal
backers say will boost economic growth by cutting trade barriers and
streamlining regulations between the EU and US.

German trade minister Sigmar Gabriel is pushing the alternative. The
social democrat is expecting support from his colleagues from France,
the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg, after they gave an
informal nod to the initiative at a meeting in Madrid in February.
Austria sees the plan as “principally positive,” according to an
official in the economics ministry in Vienna.

The proposal responds to the critique that the current draft in the
trade deal operates outside the rule of law, Markus Krajewski, a
professor in international law who drafted the 30-page document for
Gabriel, told POLITICO.

The court would consist of at least six judges, chosen by the EU and USA for a four year term. Krajeswki said: “They need to be absolutely independent.” Contrary to the current investor dispute set-up in TTIP, “no lawyer
can be nominated that has already consulted a company in similar
lawsuit,” to prevent conflicts of interest, he said. All court documents will be public and an appeals mechanism with
five judges will be established — two elements also missing from the
current system.

To file a suit, a company needs to have a subsidiary in the EU or the
US, with a certain number of employees and financial investment, which
differs by industry. Sheer holding or letterbox companies are excluded
from the right of action.

The concept was introduced to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia
Malmström, who met the US chief negotiation Michael Froman in Washington
on Monday. “The idea of creating a permanent court is one of the avenues
contemplated by the Commission,” her spokesperson Daniel Rosario said.

So far, the US side has not commented on the proposal.

Mixed reactions in Parliament

Malmström will also speak in the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee (INTA) on Wednesday.

Whereas the panel chair Bernd Lange from the Progressive Alliance of
Socialists and Democrats told POLITICO he backs the proposal of his
party colleague Gabriel, other parliamentarian groups are divided.

MEP Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party in the
Parliament, welcomed Gabriel’s proposal as “a step forward to our
position on the improvement of investment protection,” he told POLITICO.

MEP Yannick Jadot of Greens/European Free Alliance, a vice chair of
the international trade panel, called it “a good idea,” as his group
opposes the current draft ISDS scheme.

MEP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe, however, said the proposal goes too far.“We speak of an minor number of possible investment-dispute cases
between the EU and US,” he said. “To employ fully paid judges on a
permanent basis is bureaucratic and economic nonsense.” Still, Lambsdorff generally approved of the concept of an open selection of judges and public proceedings.

ALDE member Marietje Schaake was less skeptical, but noted that such a trade court would take “time and money to establish.” Gabriel’s proposal will have a rough ride in convincing those
left-leaning critics and nongovernmental groups, who believe that a
EU-US trade deal doesn’t need any dispute settlement mechanism at all.

Gabriel Zimmer, president of the United European Left/Nordic Left
group in the Parliament, said it is “intolerable” that private investors
could sue states in private courts. “An EU-US trade court does not change this. Foreign investors can
also invoke national or European courts, which are already good enough
for European citizens or companies,” Zimmer criticized.

Even law expert Krawejski, the author of Gabriel’s proposal, said
that in his personal opinion “TTIP won’t need any investment protection
mechanism at all. But since this opinion has no majority in the EU, the
trade court provides a middle course.”
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EXPATS

The Otium Post was started as a protection for expat Norwegians located in many parts of the world,covering such important items as pension entitlements,new taxes,bi-lateral agreements with Norway and other countries etc. etc.

Other contents such as human rights,democracy and dangers from factions trying to destroy it is now contained in a new blog named Human Synthesis.